New rifle build help needed

.Have you budgeted in reloading equipment and a rangefinder? Unless your going to be shooting at know distances, like BR shooting, a range finder is a must. I would recommend a Lieca 1600. You will also need need a wind/weather meter and i would recommend a Kestrel 4000 or 4500. There will be some other miscellaneous stuff as well.

Yes on the reloading. My parts list is all been approved on the handloader site I posted to. Lots of research done there as well. It's at around 1200$ since I had nothing for reloading before. Ordering mostly from midway usa.

I was planning on using a mildot reticle and ranging with that. One of my uncles whom I target shoot with allot has one and every time we shoot he is calling out ranges for us and when he does I consistently hit my targets, so he is right on the money. He says it takes a little while to get used to but isn't hard to learn and get good at and then your not left any dependency on additional gear with battery requirements.

I have never ranged with a milldot reticle but he has promised to show me the ropes out in the field and I have been watching allot of instructional videos on it also. If I go with the USO scope I was going to get the "MDMOA" reticle and if the NF Beast then the "MOAR" reticle.

Much thanks to all the people who have posted with help but it leads me to another question. When doing a custom build like you all have described is it common that all of the back and forth between you and your gunsmith is done via phone and then parts mailed to him or should the smith be located within driving distance and done in person?

Oklahoma- thank you for your service. my brother had two coopers. they are light . the triggers were good. they required some load developement. the advantage to a cooper is no wait. we both have heavy rifles in 6.5-284 now for long range . mine is off of a remington and his a bat. load developement consists of dropping powder. i would get the NF scope. i would use a range finder.

Yes on the reloading. My parts list is all been approved on the handloader site I posted to. Lots of research done there as well. It's at around 1200$ since I had nothing for reloading before. Ordering mostly from midway usa.

I was planning on using a mildot reticle and ranging with that. One of my uncles whom I target shoot with allot has one and every time we shoot he is calling out ranges for us and when he does I consistently hit my targets, so he is right on the money. He says it takes a little while to get used to but isn't hard to learn and get good at and then your not left any dependency on additional gear with battery requirements.

I have never ranged with a milldot reticle but he has promised to show me the ropes out in the field and I have been watching allot of instructional videos on it also. If I go with the USO scope I was going to get the "MDMOA" reticle and if the NF Beast then the "MOAR" reticle.

Much thanks to all the people who have posted with help but it leads me to another question. When doing a custom build like you all have described is it common that all of the back and forth between you and your gunsmith is done via phone and then parts mailed to him or should the smith be located within driving distance and done in person?

It is possible to range with a reticle, mil or MOA, if you know the dimensions of your target. But that won't give you the precision or accuracy of a lazer rangefinder. At 1000 yds, your bullet will be dropping about 15" every 25 yds so if you miss judge your distance by 25 yds, you have induced about 1.5 MOA of error into your shot. For hunting, animals will vary in size and dimension and ranging them accurately at long distance would be extremely difficult. IMO, for serious LR shooting, especially hunting, a rangefinder is a must.

Are you considering the BEAST because it is FFP? Do you understand the differences between FFP and SFP? You can get extremely capable scopes for a lot less than the cost of a BEAST.

I just had 3 rifle builds completed by 2 different smiths. Both do excellent work. One is 3 1/2 hours from me and the other is 45 min. In the future I will be using the closer one because of the convenience and ease of communication. I didn't have the best communication with the one who was 3 1/2 hours and there were some minor glitches in the project that did not affect the overall quality of the rifle. With the more local guy, communication was very good by phone, email, text and face to face. I spent a lot of time in his shop chatting about the projects and other things and he was able to "show" me things which made it a great and educational experience for me. We have a very good relationship. Not all smiths will be like that. Communication is very important and I recommend using email so you both understand exactly what is expected in written form.

__________________
- Mark

You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.
~ John Quincy Adams

Are you considering the BEAST because it is FFP? Do you understand the differences between FFP and SFP? You can get extremely capable scopes for a lot less than the cost of a BEAST.

Both the Beast and the ER25 are FFP and yes I know the diference between first and second focal plans for mildot ranging. Other features of those two that seperate them from other scopes is 1/10 mil adjustments, 90%+ light transmission, zero stops, Custome turrets and reticles.

Both the Beast and the ER25 are FFP and yes I know the diference between first and second focal plans for mildot ranging. Other features of those two that seperate them from other scopes is 1/10 mil adjustments, 90%+ light transmission, zero stops, Custome turrets and reticles.

Fair enough, if that's what you want you should get it.

__________________
- Mark

You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you make good use of it.
~ John Quincy Adams

I guess I get to play devil's advocate After owning both NF & USO, I have to vote USO (the MDMOA is a great reticle). The only thing I would change about the USO you're looking at is the elevation knob. USO's EREK knob is bad to the bone, while it wouldn't be my first choice for a saddle scabbard it is my favorite overall.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with a Cooper, I believe it will treat you well. I do have to encourage you to pick up a good rangefinder though, along with a Kestrel; that is must have equipment (IMHO).

t

__________________"I, however, view ethics as an individual decision. My ethics are mine - and I won't explain or justify them to anyone else. I seek nobody's approval, just that of my own conscience. "